ISLAMABAD, Oct 10: After a wave of violent protests witnessed throughout the country, it only seems natural that sane voices are being raised to create awareness around the issue.
The danger being that repetitive violent protests could become the norm and lead to further deterioration of law and order.
This was stated by participants at a seminar on “Civilised way of effective protesting,” organised by Law Students Council of International Islamic University, Islamabad, on Wednesday.
Television anchor and columnist Saleem Safi while talking to participants said that although on September 21, most people were protesting against the blasphemous film, but the methods they used to register their protest sent a very negative image of the Muslim world.
He said: “Instead of announcing a holiday all over the country, the government should have planned a way to spread the message of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in educational institutions and other departments. Our cricket team could have worn head bands on which Darood Sharif could have been written.”
“We have to understand that every society has different ways of protesting. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, women remove their headscarf as a form of protest to show that they are aggrieved but in the West it’s different,” he said.
Safi said that all over the world, protests launched by the relevant forum are considered more effective, compared to a mass protest. Ideally, the protest against the film should have been recorded through the foreign office.
He said that there are a number of persons in India and Pakistan who speak against both countries but both countries do not give them any importance. “Regarding the movie against Islam, we have given it too much importance,” he said.
Columnist Khursheed Nadeem said that protests can only achieve their objectives if they are in the right direction, otherwise they create destruction.
He said: “Holy Prophet (PBUH) has shown the right way to us, now it is our responsibility to follow the path. If we violate Prophet’s (PBUH) instructions during protests, it means that we are doing protests for ourselves, not for Islam.”
Participants of the seminar prayed for the health of Malala Yousafzai and other students who were injured because of firing in Swat on Tuesday.
Sharia and Law Department Chairman Dr Tahir Hakeem prayed for peace in the country. Student Advisor Dr Safeer Awan presided over the seminar.